List of commanders of the British 7th Armoured Division

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Mobile Division, Egypt / Mobile Division (Egypt)
Armoured Division (Egypt)
7th Armoured Division
Photographic portrait of Percy Hobart
Percy Hobart, the first commanding officer of the Mobile Division (Egypt)
Active1938–1958
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
EngagementsSecond World War

The 7th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army and formed in 1938. The division was commanded by a general officer commanding (GOC), who received orders from a level above him in the chain of command, and then used the forces within the division to undertake the mission assigned. In addition to directing the tactical battle in which the division was involved, the GOC oversaw a staff and the administrative, logistical, medical, training, and discipline concerns of the division.[1] From its founding to when it was redesignated in the 1950s, the division had 18 permanent GOCs; one of whom was killed and another wounded.

The division was formed in Egypt, from mechanised-cavalry and tank units that were based there, following raising tensions with Italy. In 1939, the Mobile Division was renamed the Armoured Division and then became the 7th Armoured Division a year later. Following the Italian entry into the war, in June 1940, the division skirmished with their opposing forces throughout several engagements. After the Italian invasion of Egypt, a British counterstroke (Operation Compass) was launched in December 1940 and the division was able to help in the destruction of the Italian Tenth Army. Over the following two years, it fought in all the major battles of the back and forth Western Desert campaign. The fighting in the Western Desert saw the death of one commanding officer, Jock Campbell. Following the Second Battle of El Alamein it assisted in the pursuit west and joined in the Tunisian campaign and that fighting resulted in John Harding being wounded. While not selected for the subsequent Allied invasion of Sicily, it did land in mainland Italy for the opening stages of the Italian campaign. Chosen as a veteran formation to bolster the Second Army for Operation Overlord, the division was withdrawn to the UK and then landed in France in June 1944. It then fought in the Battle of Caen, notably at the Battle of Villers-Bocage and during Operation Goodwood. Following the Allied victory in Normandy, the division pushed east across France into the Low Countries, supported Operation Market Garden, and then took part in the Western Allied invasion of Germany.

The division was located in Germany at the end of the war and became part of the British Army of the Rhine. It was temporarily disbanded, when it was turned into a military district although it was soon reactivated. It remained in Germany until it was finally disbanded in 1958. The legacy of the division was maintained by the 7th Armoured Brigade until 2014, when it was reorganised as the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team.

General officer commanding[edit]

See also: General officer commanding
General officer commanding
No. Appointment date Rank General officer commanding Notes Source(s)
1 27 September 1938 Major-General Percy Hobart The division was formed in the United Kingdom, as the Mobile Division, Egypt / Mobile Division (Egypt). [2][3]
Acting 16 November 1939 Brigadier John Caunter [3]
2 4 December 1939 Major-General Michael Creagh The formation was redesignated as the 7th Armoured Division on 16 February 1940 [3]
Acting 1 April 1940 Brigadier John Caunter [3]
2 13 April 1940 Major-General Sir Michael Creagh [3]
3 3 September 1941 Major-General William Gott [3]
4 6 February 1942 Major-General Jock Campbell Killed in action on 23 February [3]
Acting 23 February 1943 Brigadier Alexander Gatehouse [3]
5 9 March 1942 Major-General Frank Messervy [3]
6 19 June 1942 Major-General James Renton [3]
7 14 September 1942 Major-General John Harding Harding was wounded in action on 19 January 1943 [3]
Acting 20 January 1943 Brigadier Philip Roberts [3]
8 24 January 1943 Major-General George Erskine [3]
9 4 August 1944 Major-General Gerald Verney [3]
10 22 November 1944 Major-General Lewis Lyne While retaining command of the division, Lyne was also the Commandant of the British sector of occupied Berlin in 1945. In December 1945, Lyne relinquished command of the division. [3][4][5]
11 January 1946 Major-General Philip Roberts [6][7]
12 November 1947 Major-General Philip Balfour The division was disbanded in March 1948 [8][9]
13 April 1948 Major-General Euan Miller The division was reformed from "Hannover District", a military district that had been formed in Germany. [10][11][12]
14 10 May 1949 Major-General Robert Arkwright [13]
15 1 May 1951 Major-General Charles Jones [14]
16 1 December 1953 Major-General Kenneth Cooper [15]
17 24 March 1956 Major-General John Hackett [16]
18 3 February 1958 Major-General Geoffrey Musson The division was redesignated as the 5th Division in April 1958. The 7th Armoured Division's history was then transferred to the 7th Armoured Brigade. [17][18]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Haythornthwaite 2016, The Divisional System.
  2. ^ "No. 34557". The London Gazette. 30 September 1938. p. 6140.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Joslen 2003, p. 19.
  4. ^ Murray 1961, p. 235.
  5. ^ "British Commander in Berlin". The Times. No. 50232. 28 August 1945. p. 4.
  6. ^ Forty 2014, p. 219.
  7. ^ "Military Appointments". The Times. No. 50813. 15 July 1947. p. 2.
  8. ^ "Military Appointments". The Times. No. 50813. 15 July 1947. p. 2.
  9. ^ "The Seventh Armoured Division". The Tank: Journal of The Royal Tank Regiment. 30 (347): 205. March 1948. OCLC 173416953.
  10. ^ "The Fifth". The Tank: Journal of The Royal Tank Regiment. 30 (348): 236. April 1948. OCLC 173416953.
  11. ^ "No. 38634". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1949. p. 2843.
  12. ^ Kennett 1970, p. 425.
  13. ^ "Changes in Army Commands". The Times. No. 51378. 11 May 1949. p. 7., "No. 38634". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1949. p. 2843., and "No. 39249". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1951. p. 3109.
  14. ^ "No. 39249". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1951. p. 3109.
  15. ^ "No. 40046". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 December 1953. p. 6927. and "No. 40739". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 March 1956. p. 1801.
  16. ^ "No. 40739". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 March 1956. p. 1801. and "No. 41306". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 February 1958. p. 923.
  17. ^ "No. 41306". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 February 1958. p. 923.
  18. ^ Lord & Watson 2003, pp. 34, 84.

References[edit]

  • Forty, George (2014). Desert Rats At War: North Africa, Italy, Northwest Europe. Not identified: Air Sea Media. ISBN 978-0-95769-155-1.
  • Haythornthwaite, Philip (2016). Picton's Division at Waterloo. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-78159-102-4.
  • Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
  • Kennett, Brian Bishop (1970). Craftsmen of the Army: The Story of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Vol. I. London: Leo Cooper. OCLC 1033988.
  • Lord, Cliff; Watson, Graham (2003). The Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920–2001) and its Antecedents. West Midlands: Helion. ISBN 978-1-874622-07-9.
  • Murray, Robert Henry (1961). The History of the VIII King's Royal Irish Hussars, 1693-1958. Vol. III. Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons. OCLC 752706021.
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